B.C. man digs through dump to find wife’s lost wedding rings

A Mission man sifted through tons and tons of garbage at the dump to find his wife’s wedding and anniversary rings.

A Mission, B.C. man has recovered his wife’s lost wedding and anniversary rings, after an unusual and rather stinky search through 18 tonnes of compost at the local dump.

Steve Van Ysseldyk’s wife, Jeannine, noticed the rings were missing after washing her hands at a restaurant.

“We left the restaurant, I’m like, I can’t even wait for the cheque,” she said.

The couple retraced their steps and realized the rings must have gone missing the night before.

After an outing at the movies, Jeannine Van Ysseldyk had brought some popcorn home, but spilled it on the lawn.

Somehow, while picking it up and tossing it into the compost, the jewelry must have come off.

By the time the couple figured it out, their garbage and compost had already been collected.

“I said I’d go to the dump in the morning and ask them if I could go through the compost pile,” said her husband.

Few people thought he had any chance of finding the rings, including an employee at the Mission Sanitary Landfill.

“My brain was trying to figure out a way to tell him to go buy his wife new wedding rings,” said contractor Denny Webster.

But admiring Van Ysseldyk’s determination, Webster agreed to help.

He used an excavator to isolate smaller sections of the compost pile so Van Ysseldyk could begin his search.

“When he has something on his mind, he makes sure he does it. He follows through,” said his wife.

So, Van Ysseldyk began sifting through those piles and began to recognize his household waste, including a popcorn bag.

Astonishingly, within an hour, he found one ring, and then the other.

“And it was all slimy with popcorn and butter,” described Webster.

So, husband called wife to deliver the good news.

“She basically broke down crying, cried all the way home,” he said.

Against the odds, and despite the smell, the search was a success.

With a smile, Jeannine Van Ysseldyk insisted their 26-year-old marriage is now even stronger.

“Well, yes, because I know how much he loves me, that he’s willing to go through a rotten, stinky compost pile,” she said, laughing.